Artis Williams knows how to get the job done inside Vicksburg Auditorium.

With a steady stream of get-togethers, concerts, funerals and pageants Williams has been working on or running the auditorium with a smile on his face for 25 years. On Sunday, Williams was smiling again but this time he was the guest of honor as more than 70 people gathered to honor him for his service.

“People think work is a curse, but it’s a blessing from the Lord,” Williams said.  “He put me in a job that I love doing.”

Williams said his faith and his family have kept him smiling and joking over 25 busy years of sometimes working all day and night.

“There’s not many men to be able to work like I do and go home and the dog not bite you,” Williams said.

Auditorium users come to Williams almost every day with ideas for how they want their event laid out. Most of the time, Williams said, the designs won’t work but he always offers a solution.

Williams is “someone we all know and take for granted while we assume miracles take place in this place,” his friend and mistress of ceremonies for the event Zelmarine Murphy said.

North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said Williams is one of the city’s most dedicated employees and problem solvers.

“If you find a better person than Artis Williams, please bring them to me. I want to meet them,” Mayfield said. “You’ve been a pleasure to work with and a blessing. I know that because the people who work with you come and tell me,” Mayfield said.

Deputy City Clerk Lisa Palmertree said even on the rare occasions that Williams gets upset or frustrated with work, he always has a smile on his face.

“There’s nobody on the face of this Earth who I’d rather work with,” Palmertree said.

And he’ll be busy for the next year. Almost every day for the first six months of 2016 is booked at the auditorium. Many of those days have multiple events. Yet, Williams will be there with a smile on his face, she said.

“If the world was full of Artises, we would have it made,”

Williams also won praise from his customers during the program. Willie Griffin, who owns Too Sweet Productions said Williams has been a major part of his success, which led to a Mississippi Music Award in 2014. At the ceremony he credited Williams for his success.

“He doesn’t do just what his job title says. He goes beyond,” Griffin said. “What he does, he loves.”